Friday Interviews-Kim Rendfeld author of The Cross and the Dragon

As we do on Fridays, when we have an interview, we take a break from the Regency Personality series. It shall of course return. As early as tomorrow.

Today we are fortunate to have with us Kim Rendfeld, who writes historical fiction set in the days of Charlemagne.

What moved you to become an author?

It was accidental. I was a newspaper editor when my family and I went on a vacation to Germany. But there, we stumbled across the legend behind Rolandsbogen and the ivy-covered arch on the high Rhineland hill.

(Spoiler alert) According to the story, Roland (Hruodland in The Cross and the Dragon) builds the castle for his bride and goes off to war in Spain. He survives the attack in the Pyrenees, but his wife is told he died. Not wishing to marry another, she takes a vow of chastity and joins the convent on Nonnenwerth, a Rhine island. Roland comes back too late and spends the rest of his days at his window trying to catch a glimpse of her going to and from prayers. This legend is not true. The historic Hruodland died in the attack, and that is all we know about him (end spoiler).

Yet the story of Rolandsbogen left me with questions such as “Why would someone lie to the bride like that?” It followed me home and would not let me rest until I sat at my computer and started writing, even though I knew little about the Middle Ages at the time.

Francia, 778: Alda has never forgotten Ganelon’s vow of vengeance when she married his rival, Hruodland. Yet the jilted suitor’s malice is nothing compared to Alda’s premonition of disaster for her beloved, battle-scarred husband.

Although the army invading Hispania is the largest ever and King Charles has never lost a war, Alda cannot shake her anxiety. Determined to keep Hruodland from harm, even if it exposes her to danger, Alda gives him a charmed dragon amulet.

Is its magic enough to keep Alda’s worst fears from coming true—and protect her from Ganelon?

How did the story begin to develop in your mind?

I started with the legend and tried to find out more about Roland and his bride. I first read the epic poem, The Song of Roland, which is also a form of historical fiction (light on historical, heavy on fiction), (DWW-I read that myself once. Sometimes the passages were long enough to cause nap time!) and borrowed some names from there. I then looked into the history, and what a fascinating history it is!

King Charles’s personal life, for example, could rival a soap opera. When my story starts, he is twice divorced, married to wife No. 3, and about to go to war with an ex-father-in-law, who’s the king of Lombardy and threatening Rome. I didn’t make any of that up.

What did you find most challenging about this book?

Emotionally, the biggest challenge was cutting the manuscript. It really does feel like all those violent sayings—“Murder your babies,” “Shoot your pets.”

At its heaviest weight, The Cross and the Dragon was more than 146,000 words, and I thought it ready for publication. After a couple of years of trying, I got a useful rejection that said there was not enough tension between the characters. Off went the first two chapters, where I was spending too much time describing people and settings and politics instead of moving the story along.

When I got an agent in 2007, it was about 125,000 words. I made some edits at the suggestion of my agent, and after a few unsuccessful attempts to sell the novel, I agreed to cut it down further. A few secondary characters were eliminated, along with repetitive dialog, and after yet another revision, I wound up with a pleasantly plump 105,000 words. Still no luck with sales. My agent and I parted ways.

How did you choose your publishing method?

I spent years trying to get published with the Big 5 (or whatever the correct number is these days), and then I remembered the saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.” In 2011, I terminated my relationship with my agent and entered the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition, where I finished as a quarterfinalist. My consolation prize was a nice review from Publishers Weekly of the unedited manuscript. It gave me a boost when I really needed it.

So I tried my luck with agents again. In that process, I came across a blog from author Linda Collison about her experience with Fireship Press, a small press based in Tuscon, Arizona. I submitted to Fireship, they liked the manuscript, and agreed to publish it. I had editorial control and a voice in what the cover looked like, and I am pleased with how the book turned out.

Tell us a little about yourself?

If it weren’t for feminism, I would be one of those junior high English teachers scaring the bejesus of her students, correcting grammar to the point of obnoxiousness. Instead, I chose a career in journalism at Indiana newspapers for 17 years.

My day job changed in 2007, when I moved into public relations and marketing at Ball State University. I’m paid to read all day and tell the writers what’s wrong with their work, and they thank me for it. Who couldn’t enjoy a job like that?

I was still working at a newspaper when I decided to write fiction. Journalism taught me to get to the point and care more about communication than cleverness. But I had to unlearn some habits. Journalistic writing is by necessity emotionally distant and objective; fiction is intimate, getting insides the heads of the people you’re writing about.

What is your next work, and beyond that, what do you want to work on.

My next book is tentatively titled The Ashes of Heaven’s Pillar, a companion to The Cross and the Dragon. Here is the most recent draft of the blurb:

Charlemagne’s 772 battles in Saxony have left Leova with nothing but her two children, Deorlaf and Sunwynn. Her husband died in combat. Her faith lies in the ashes of the Irminsul, the Pillar of Heaven. And the relatives obligated to defend her and her family sold them into slavery, stealing their farm.

Taken in Francia, Leova will stop at nothing to protect her son and daughter, even if it means sacrificing her honor and her safety. Her determination only grows stronger as Sunwynn blossoms into a beautiful young woman attracting the lust of a cruel master and Deorlaf becomes a headstrong man willing to brave starvation and demons to free his family.

Yet Leova’s most difficult dilemma comes in the form of a Frankish friend, Hugh. He saves Deorlaf from a fanatical Saxon Christian and is Sunwynn’s champion—and he is the warrior who slew Leova’s husband.

The history of the Carolingian era has drawn me into a third book. As I have time, I’m doing some groundwork for a novel about Queen Fastrada, Charlemagne’s influential fourth wife. Her enemies, Charles’s eldest son among them, say they conspired to overthrow her husband because of her cruelty. Never mind the other reasons—an eldest son who felt cheated out of his inheritance, for example. My novel speculates on who this strong woman really was.

In the current work, is there an excerpt to share? Your favorite scene, a part of your life that you put into the work and think it came out exceptionally well that you would like to share.

Here is an excerpt in which Ganelon has just learned the heroine, Alda, is betrothed to Hruodland, his rival, and he has taken his case to the king to have that legal agreement nullified:

“We, too, are bound by Church law,” the king said, gesturing toward his arch chaplain. “Fulrad said this marriage depends on the consent of the bride. While the bishop of Bonn has an interest in whom Lady Alda marries, Fulrad has no stake in this matter. Our judgment is this: the betrothal between Lord Hruodland and Lady Alda is valid.”

Mouth agape, Ganelon stared at the people about him. His baneful gaze fell on Hruodland and Alda. Alda trembled in Hruodland’s arms.

Hruodland remained steady. As the nobles step aside, he handed Alda to Alfihar and stepped into the clear space they had made. He pushed back the sleeve to reveal the scar from the Lombard and crossed his arms.

“Well, Ganelon, what will you do?” He made no attempt to mask his contempt.

“I shall leave this den of wolves,” Ganelon said through clenched teeth. He turned his hate-filled gaze to Alda. “And you, strumpet, you are worthless to any man without your dowry.”

“No one insults my wife,” Hruodland shouted.

He lunged at Ganelon and punched him in the gut. Ganelon returned the blow before a dozen guards separated the two. Alda leaned against Alfihar as Hruodland and Ganelon shouted new obscenities at each other.

When their curses were finally spent, Ganelon called to his servants. “We are leaving post-haste,” he barked. “Anyone who tarries will be flogged.”

Ganelon’s servants, bone-thin and clothed in rags, hurried to do their master’s bidding. Ganelon went out of his way in Alda’s direction. Hruodland raced toward Ganelon.

“I will be avenged,” Ganelon muttered. He turned on his heel and left.

Who do you think influenced your writing, this work, and who do you think you write like?

I would like to think I have my own unique voice, discovered with the help of members of The Novel Group in Lafayette, Indiana, who patiently read through drafts of The Cross and the Dragon and The Ashes of Heaven’s Pillar.

Who do you read? What are the things that a reader can identify with that you have grounded yourself in.

When I was a teenager, I would start my summers with reading The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings series. I admire how J.R.R. Tolkien can create this imaginary world and make it seem real. I also spent a lot of time reading the folk tales collected by the Grimm brothers and have never lost my fascination with them.

When writing, what is your routine?

I have a day job and squeeze in writing whenever I can, often in the evenings and on weekends. I have an office at home—the proverbial room of one’s own—and will close the door when the TV gets too loud. I am fortunate to have a supportive husband who cooks for me, especially when I’m deep into revisions. My cats, however, continue to make demands.

Do you think of yourself as an artist, or as a craftsman, a blend of both?

A blend of both. The artistry is in the inspiration behind the creation and development of the story, but craftsmanship is in research as well as persistence and willingness to revise, revise, and revise again.

Like this:

Related

5 Responses

wow, thanks for this fantastic interview! I loved very very much this book, yes I did make some comparison to Bernard Cornwell’s works. Looking forward for your next book, Kim, please keep me on your mailing list!

[…] might occasionally see some news about The Cross and the Dragon. On Friday, I had a nice chat with David William Wilkin, who writes in the Regency era. His questions include what moved me to become an author and what […]

[…] success without artistry. It’s debatable how much of the skill of writing can be learned, but Kim Rendfeld, in a recent interview in this space, pointed out that craftsmanship applies to research, and it is […]